Las Vegas NV New records for exhibit space and the number of exhibitors for the International Consumer Electronics Show CES were set when the annual mega-show opened its doors to attendees on January 6 The Consumer Electronics Association CEA welcomed more than 3 600 exhibitors assigned to the events exhibit halls which totaled more than 22 million net square feet nsf and zapped the previous record of 206 million nsf set last year We couldnt wait to open the show floor doors for this years record-breaking event said Gary Shapiro president and CEO of the CEA The International CES annually draws huge crowds and swarms of media members to look over the latest in electronics and record the unveilings of new trend-setting products This year did not disappoint as a large crowd of journalists packed the pre-show CES Unveiled media night on January 4 Samsung President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Boo-Keun Yoon explored the implications of a fully connected world powered by the Internet of Things IoT during a pre-show keynote Sunday evening which he called Science Fact not Science Fiction He highlighted several products that make life easier healthier and more efficient because of IoT connectivity including TVs that automatically pause when you leave the room wearables that monitor brain waves to track biometric data and music systems that seamlessly transition from your home speakers to your headphones Later Sunday evening Dr Dieter Zetsche chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars discussed the car of the future saying that Mercedes aims to develop truly superhuman autonomous driving ability The concept car of the future according to Zetsche can drive itself has seats that can swivel to face each other and possesses a computerized brain to watch pedestrian traffic The aim of the concept car is space time and privacy with the interior featuring gesture and eye-tracking control with free-floating driving instruments Zetsche admitted that there are legal hurdles ahead such as liability in the case of unavoidable accidents but said those are industry issues that we must resolve with a joint effort He added Quality time and private space will be the true luxury items of the future The International CES runs through January 9 Reach Gary Shapiro at 703 907-7605 or gshapiro ceorg